XAT-2011 Question Paper

8/10/2019 XAT-2011 Question Paper

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1 Actual Paper-XAT-2011

THE ENTIRE QUESTION PAPER IS DIVIDED INTO THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS

SECTIONS NAME OF THE SECTIONS NO. OF QUESTIONS

(a) (b) (c)

Section A Data Interpretation andQuantitative Ability 43 (Questions 1 - 43)

Section B Verbal Ability andLogical Reasoning 34 (Questions 44 - 77)

Section C Analytical Reasoning andDecision Making 24 (Questions 78 101)

Total 101

Note: Each question carries different marks which are indicated on the right-hand side of eachquestion.


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Actual Paper-XAT-2011 4

6. If the company decides to abolish all vacant posts at all levels, which level would incur thehighest reduction in percentage terms? (1 mark)

A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 E. 5

7. Among all levels, which level has the lowest representation of Ex-policemen? (1 mark)

A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 E. 5

8. In a locality, there are ten houses in a row. On a particular night a thief planned to steal fromthree houses of the locality. In how many ways can he plan such that no two of them are next toeach other? (1 mark)

A. 56 B. 73 C. 80D. 120 E. None of the above

9. If x = 48)549( + = [x] + f, where [x] is defined as integral part of x and f is a faction, then x(1 - f)equals: (5 marks)

A. 1 B. Less than 1 C. More than 1D. Between 1 and 2 E. None of the above

10. Let a n = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1, where 1 occurs n number of times. Then,

i. a741 is not a prime.ii. a534 is not a prime.iii. a123 is not a prime.iv. a77 is not a prime. (5 marks)

A. (i) is correct. B. (i) and (ii) are correct. C. (ii) and (iii) are correct.D. All of them are correct. E. None of them is correct.


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Answer question numbers 11 and 12 based on the following information.

Income-Tax Rates for Financial Year 2009-10

Individual & HUF belowage of 65 years

Women belowage of 65 years

Tax Rates

Income up toRs. 1,60,000/-

Income up toRs. 1,90,000/-

Nil

Rs. 1,60,001 toRs. 3,00,000/-

Rs. 1,90,001 toRs. 3,00,000/-

10%

Rs. 3,00,001 toRs. 5,00,000/-

Rs. 3,00,001 toRs. 5,00,000/- 20%

Above Rs. 5,00,001 Above Rs. 5,00,001 30%

Total income tax payable is obtained by adding two additional surcharges on calculated income tax.

Education Cess: An additional surcharge called 'Education Cess' is levied at the late of 2% on theamount of income tax.

Secondary and Higher Education Cess: An additional surcharge called 'Secondary and HigherEducation Cess' is levied at the rate of 1% on the amount of income tax.

11. Sangeeta is a young working lady. Towards the end of the financial year 2009-10, she found hertotal annual income to be Rs. 3, 37, 425/-. What % of her income is payable as income tax?(1 mark)

A. 5.64 B. 6.82 C. 7.38D. 8.10 E. None of the above

12. Mr. Madan observed his tax deduction at source, done by his employer, as Rs. 3,17,910/-. Whatwas his total income (in Rs.) if he neither has to pay any additional tax nor is eligible for anyrefund? (2 marks)

A. 13,48,835/- B. 14,45,522/- C. 14,47,169/-

D. 15,70,718/- E. None of the above


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13. A straight line through point P of a triangle PQR intersects the side QR at the point S and thecircumcircle of the triangle PQR at the point T. lf S is not the centre of the circumcircle, thenwhich of the following is true? (3 marks)

A. (1/PS) + (1/ST) < 2/ )QR)(QS( B. (1/PS) + (1/ST) < 4/ QR

C. (1/PS) + (1/ST) > 1 )QR)(QS( D. (1/PS) + (1/ST) > 4/ QRE. None of the above

14. What is the maximum possible value of (21 Sin X + 72 Cos X)? (3 marks)


15. The scheduling officer for a local police department is trying to schedule additionalpatrol units in each of two neighbourhoods - southern and northern. She knows that on anygiven day, the probabilities of major crimes and minor crimes being committed in the northernneighbourhood were 0.418 and 0.612, respectively, and that the correspondingprobabilities in the southern neighbourhood were 0.355 and 0.520. Assuming that all crimeoccur independent of each other and likewise that crime in the two neighbourhoods areindependent of each other, what is the probability that no crime of either type iscommitted in either neighbourhood on any given day? (2 marks)

A. 0.069 B. 0.225 C. 0.69D. 0.775 E. None of the above


A man standing on a boat south of a light house observes his shadow to be 24 meters long, asmeasured at the sea level. On sailing 300 meters eastwards, he finds his shadow as 30 meters long,measured in a similar manner. The height of the man is 6 meters above sea level.

16. The height of the light house above the sea level is: (3 marks)

A. 90 meters B. 94 meters C. 96 metersD. 100 meters E. l06 meters

17. What is the horizontal distance of the man from the lighthouse in the second position? (2 marks)

A. 300 meters B. 400 meters C. 500 metersD. 600 meters E. None of the above


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18. A 25 ft long ladder is placed against the wall with its base 7 ft from the wall. The base of theladder is drawn out so that the top comes down by half the distance that the base is drawn out. This distance is in the range: (2 marks)

A. (2, 7) B. (5, 8) C. (9, 10)D. (3, 7) E. None of the above.

19. The domain of the function f(x) = log 7{ log3(log5(20x - x 2 - 91 ))} is: (3 marks)

A. (7, 13) B. (8, 12) C. (7, 12)D. (12, 13) E. None of the above

20. There are four machines in a factory. At exactly 8 pm, when the mechanic is about to leave thefactory, he is informed that two of the four machines are not working properly. Themechanic is in a hurry, and decides that he will identify the two faulty machines before goinghome, and repair them next morning. It takes him twenty minutes to walk to the bus stop. Thelast bus leaves at 8:32 pm. If it takes six minutes to identify whether a machine is defective ornot, and if he decides to check the machines at random, what is the probability that themechanic will be able to catch the last bus? (2 marks)

A. 0 B. 1/6 C. 1/4 D. 1/3 E. 1

21. The football league of a certain country is played according to the following rules:l Each team plays exactly one game against each of the other teams.l The winning team of each game is awarded l point and the losing team gets 0 point.l If a-match ends in a draw, both the teams get 1/2 point.After the league was over, the teams were ranked according to the points that they earned atthe end of the tournament. Analysis of the points table revealed the following:Exactly half of the points earned by each team were earned in games against the ten teamswhich finished at the bottom of the table.Each of the bottom ten teams earned half of their total points against the other nine teams inthe bottom ten.How many teams participated in the league? (3 marks)

A. 16 B. 18 C. 19 D. 25 E. 30


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22. In a city, there is a circular park. There are four points of entry into the park, namely - P, Q, R andS. Three paths were constructed which connected the points PQ, RS, and PS. The length of thepath PQ is 10 units, and the length of the path RS is 7 units. Later, the municipal corporationextended the paths PQ and RS past Q and R respectively, and they meet at a point T on the mainroad outside the park. The path from Q to T measures 8 units, and it was found that the anglePTS is 60 . Find the area (in square units) enclosed by the paths PT, TS, and PS. (2 marks)

A. 336 B. 354 C. 372

D. 390 E. None of the above


From a group of 545 contenders, a party has to select a leader. Even after holding a series of meetings,the politicians and the general body failed to reach a consensus. It was then proposed that all 545contenders be given a number from 1 to 545. Then they will be asked to stand on a podium in acircular arrangement, and counting would start from the contender numbered 1. The counting wouldbe done in a clockwise fashion. The rule is that every alternate contender would be asked to stepdown as the counting continued, with the circle getting smaller and smaller, till only one personremains standing. Therefore the first person to be eliminated would be the contender numbered 2.

23. Which position should a contender choose if he has to be the leader? (5 marks)

A. 3 B. 67 C. 195 D. 323 E. 451

24. One of the contending politicians, Mr. Chanaya, was quite proficient in calculations and couldcorrectly figure out the exact position. He was the last person remaining in the circle. Sensingfoul play the politicians decided to repeat the game. However, this time, instead of removingevery alternate person, they agreed on removing every 300th person from the circle. All otherrules were kept intact. Mr. Chanaya did some quick calculations and found that for a group of542 people the right position to become a leader would be 437. What is the right position forthe whole group of 545 as per the modified rule? (5 marks)

A. 3 B. 194 C. 249 D. 437 E. 543

25. Little Pika who is five and half years old has just learnt addition. However, he does not know howto carry. For example, he can add 14 and 5, but he does not know how to add 14 and 7. Howmany pairs of consecutive integers between 1000 and 2000 (both 1000 and 2000 included) canLittle Pika add? (2 marks)

A. 150 B. 155 C. 156 D. 258 E. None of the above


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26. In the country of Twenty, there are exactly twenty cities, and there is exactly one direct roadbetween any two cities. No two direct roads have an overlapping road segment. After theelection dates are announced, candidates from their respective cities start visiting the othercities. Following are the rules that the election commission has laid down for the candidates:l Each candidate must visit each of the other cities exactly once.l Each candidate must use only the direct roads between two cities for going from one city to

another.l The candidate must return to his own city at the end of the campaign.l No direct road between two cities would be used by more than one candidate.

The maximum possible number of candidates is (5 marks)

A. 5 B. 6 C. 7 D. 8 E. 9

27. The micro manometer in a certain factory can measure the pressure inside the gas chamberfrom 1 unit to 999999 units. Lately this instrument has not been working properly. Theproblem with the instrument is that it always skips the digit 5 and moves directly from 4 to 6.What is the actual pressure inside the gas chamber if the micro manometer displays 0030l6?(3 marks)

A. 2201 B. 2202 C. 2600D. 2960 E. None of the above options

28. Consider a square ABCD of side 60 cm. lt contains arcs BD and AC drawn with centres at A and Drespectively. A circle is drawn such that it is tangent to side AB, and the arcs BD and AC. Whatis the radius of the circle? (5 marks)

A. 9 cm B. 10 cm C. 12 cmD. I5 cm E. None of the above

29. There are 240 second year students in a B-School. The Finance area offers 3 electives in thesecond year. These are Financial Derivatives, Behavioural Finance, and Security Analysis. Fourstudents have taken all the three electives, and 48 students have taken Financial Derivatives. There are twice as many students who study Financial Derivatives and Security Analysis but notBehavioural Finance, as those who study both Financial Derivatives and Behavioural Financebut not Security Analysis, and 4 times as many who study all the three. 124 students studySecurity Analysis. There are 59 students who could not muster courage to take up any of these

subjects. The group of students who study both Financial Derivatives and Security Analysis butnot Behavioural Finance, is exactly the same as the group made up of students who study bothBehavioural Finance and Security Analysis. How many students study Behavioural Finance only?(2 marks)



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30. ln a plane rectangular coordinate system, points L, M, N and O are represented by thecoordinates (-5, 0), (1, -1), (0, 5), and (-1, 5) respectively. Consider a variable point P in the sameplane. The minimum value of PL + PM + PN + PO is (2 marks)

A. 371+ B. 10225 + C. 3741 +

D. 141 + E. None of the above

31. ln a bank the account numbers are all 8 digit numbers, and they all start with the digit 2. So, anaccount number can be represented as 2 x 1x2x3x4x5x6x7. An account number is consideredto be a 'magic' number if x 1x2x3 is exactly the same as x 4x5x6, or x5x6x7 or both. x i can take valuesfrom 0 to 9, but 2 followed by seven 0s is not a valid account number. What is the maximumpossible number of customers having a 'magic' account number? (3 marks)

A. 9989 B. 19980 C. 19989D. 19999 E. 19990

32. In a list of 7 integers, one integer, denoted as x is unknown. The other six integers are 20, 4, 10, 4,8, and 4. If the mean, median, and mode of these seven integers are arranged in increasingorder, they form an arithmetic progression. The sum of all possible values of x is (5 marks)

A. 26 B. 32 C. 34 D. 38 E. 40

33. Prof. Bee noticed something peculiar while entering the quiz marks of his five students into aspreadsheet. The spreadsheet was programmed to calculate the average after each score wasentered. Prof. Bee entered the marks in a random order and noticed that after each mark wasentered, the average was always an integer. In ascending order, the marks of the students were71, 76, 80, 82 and 91. What were the fourth and fifth marks that Prof. Bee entered? (3 marks)

A. 71 and 82 B. 71 and 76 C. 71 and 80D. 76 and 80 E. 91 and 80

34. Rakhal is looking for a field where he can graze his cow. He finds a local farmer, Gopal, whoagrees to rent hi field to Rakhal for Rs. 1000 a year. Rakhal finds a post in the field and ties hiscow to the post with a 25 feet rope. After some months, Gopal tells Rakhal that he will build ashed with four walls on the field with the post as one of the corner posts. The shed would be 15feet by 10 feet. Rakhal agrees but he realizes that this arrangement would reduce the availablearea for grazing. What should be the modified rent to compensate for this loss of grazing area ifRakhal has to keep the cow tied to the same post with the same rope? (2 marks)

A. Rs. 800 B. Rs. 880 C. Rs. 888 D. Rs. 930 E. None of the above


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Question Numbers 35 and 36 are followed by two statements labelled as I and II. Decide if these statements are sufficient to conclusively answer the question. Choose the appropriate answerfrom the options given below:

A. Statement I alone is sufficient to answer the question.B. Statement II alone is sufficient to answer the question.C. Statement I and Statement II together are sufficient, but neither of the two alone is sufficient

to answer the question.D. Either Statement I or Statement II alone is sufficient to answer the question.E. Neither Statement I nor Statement II is necessary to answer the question.

35. Let PQRS be a quadrilateral. Two circles O1 and O2 are inscribed in triangles PQR and PSRrespectively. Circle O1 touches PR at M and circle O2 touches PR at N. Find the length of MN.(5 marks)

I. A circle is inscribed in the quadrilateral PQRS.II. The radii of the circles O1 and O2 are 5 and 6 units respectively.

36. Given below is an equation where the letters represent digits.(PQ). (RQ) = XXX. Determine the sum of P + Q + R + X. (3 marks)

I. X = 9. II. The digits are unique.

Answer question numbers 37 to 39 based on the following information.

Mulchand Textiles produces a single product of only one quality - waterproof synthetic fabric.Mr.Sharma, the cost accountant of Mulchand Textiles, estimated the costs of Mulchand Textiles fordifferent possible monthly output levels. Before he could tabulate his estimates his computer crashed,and Mr. Sharma lost all data. Fortunately he had some printouts of some incomplete tables, charts anddiagrams. The table titled "Variable Cost Estimates of Mulchand Textiles" provided the estimates oflabour and material costs.

Variable Cost Estimates of Mulchand Textiles

Output (Square feet) Labour cost (Rs.) Material cost (Rs.)25000 21500 11050

50000 41500 22000

75000 60000 33000100000 78000 44000125000 95000 54750150000 111000 65700175000 133000 76650

200000 160000 88000


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D. Increases up to 50000 square feet of monthly output, remains constant between 50000 and l00000,increases between 100000 and 125000, remain constant between 125000 and 175000 and finallydecreases between 175000 and 200000 of monthly output.

E. Increases up to 100000 square feet of monthly output and then decreases monotonically.

39. Mr. Sharma found some printouts of line diagrams. The axes of the graphs were not marked, butMr. Sharma remembered that he measured monthly output on the x-axis. Which of thefollowing diagrams would represent the estimates of electricity cost per square feet of outputversus monthly output? (3 marks)

(A) (B)

(C) (D)


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(E)


In the beginning of the year 2010, Mr. Sanyal had the option to invest Rs. 800000 in one or more of thefollowing assets - gold, silver, US bonds, EU bonds, UK bonds and Japanese bonds. In order to invest inUS bonds, one must first convert his investible fund into US Dollars at the ongoing exchange rate.Similarly, if one wants to invest in EU bonds or UK bonds or Japanese bonds one must first convert hisinvestible fund into Euro, British Pounds and Japanese Yen respectively at the ongoing exchange rates. Transactions were allowed only in the beginning of every month. Bullion prices and exchange rateswere fixed at the beginning of every month and remained unchanged throughout the month. Refer tothe table titled "Bullion Prices and Exchange Rates in 2010" for the relevant data.

Bullion Prices and Exchange Rates in 2010

Date Gold Silver US$ Rs/ 10 gram Rs/ 10 gram Rs/ US$ Rs/ Rs/ Rs/

Jan-14 20000 300 40 60 70 0.5Feb-14 20100 302 41 61.5 71 0.51Mar-14 20250 307 41 62 71 0.52Apr-14 20330 310 42 62 71 0.52May-14 20400 312 42 62.5 72 0.53Jun-14 20500 318 42 62.5 72 0.54Jul-14 20650 330 44 63 73 0.55

Aug-14 20720 335 45 63 73 0.55Sep-14 20850 340 47 64 74 0.57Oct-14 20920 342 49 65 74 0.58Nov-14 20950 345 50 65 74.5 0.59Dec-14 21000 350 50 65 75 0.6

Interest rates on US, EU, UK and Japanese bonds are 10%, 20%, 15% and 5% respectively.


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40. Mr. Sanyal invested his entire fund in gold, US bonds and EU bonds in January 2010. He liquefiedhis assets on 31st August 2010 and gained 13% on his investments. If instead he had held hisassets for an additional month he would have gained l6.25%. Which of the following options iscorrect? (3 marks)

A. Mr. Sanyal invested less than 40% in gold and more than 40% in EU bonds.B. Mr. Sanyal invested less than 40% in each of gold and US bonds.C. Mr. Sanyal invested less than 40% in gold, and less than 25% in US bonds.D. Mr. Sanyal invested more than 40% in gold, less than 25% in EU bonds.E. Mr. Sanyal invested more than 40% in each of US bonds and EU bonds.

41. At the beginning of every month, by sheer luck, Mr. Sanyal managed to correctly guess the assetthat gave maximum return during that month and invested accordingly. If he liquefied his assetson 31st December 2010, how much was the percentage gain from his investments? (2 marks)

A. 34.64% B. 46.71% C. 47.5% D. 49.15% E. 49.96%

42. Mr. Sanyal adopted the following investment strategy. On 1 st January 2010 he invested half ofhis investible fund in gold and the other half he kept in fixed deposit of an Indian bank thatoffered 25% interest per annum. At the beginning of every quarter he liquefied his assets tocreate his investible fund for that quarter. Every quarter he invested half of his fund in thebullion that gave maximum return in the previous quarter and the other half in the foreign bondthat gave maximum return in the previous quarter. However, if in any quarter none of theforeign bonds gave a better return than the fixed deposit of his Indian bank, he invested half of

his investible fund in the fixed deposit for the next quarter. On 31st

December 2010 Mr. Sanyalliquefied his assets and realized that all of the following options are true except: (2 marks)

A. By investing the entire amount in US bonds, he would have gained an additional Rs. 118395.B. By investing the entire amount in UK bonds, he would have gained an additional Rs. 65035.C. By investing the entire amount in EU bonds, he would have gained an additional Rs. 65035.D. By investing the entire amount in Japanese bonds, he would have gained an additional

Rs. 38395.E. By investing the entire amount in fixed deposit of his Indian bank he would have gained an

additional Rs.38395.


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43. Advisors were asked to prepare an investment strategy that involved US Bonds, EU Bonds andJapanese Bonds, keeping at least 20% of the initial fund in each of these assets for the entireyear, and allowing exactly four additional transactions in the course of the year. On 2nd January2011, while comparing five different recommendations that he had received from his financialadvisors in the beginning of 2010, Mr. Sanyal referred to the table "Bullion Prices and ExchangeRates in 2010". One transaction is defined as the buying or selling of an asset. Which of therecommendation out of the following was the best one? (3 marks)

A. Two additional transactions each during the month of June and November.B. Two additional transactions each during the month of June and October.C. Two additional transactions each during the month of May and June.D. Two additional transactions each during the month of March and November.E. Two additional transactions each during the month of March and October.

Section BVerbal Ability and Logical Reasoning

Directions for questions 44 to 47: Read the following discussion/passage and provide anappropriate answer for the questions that follow.

Of the several features of the Toyota Production System that have been widely studied, mostimportant is the mode of governance of the shop-floor at Toyota. Work and inter-relations betweenworkers are highly scripted in extremely detailed 'operating procedures' that have to be followedrigidly, without any deviation at Toyota. Despite such rule-bound rigidity, however, Toyota does not

become a 'command-control system'. It is able to retain the character of a learning organization.In fact, many observers characterize it as a community of scientists carrying out several smallexperiments simultaneously. The design of the operating procedure is the key. Every principle mustfind an expression in the operating procedure - that is how it has an effect in the domain of action.Workers on the shop-floor, often in teams, design the 'operating procedure' jointly with the supervisorthrough a series of hypothesis that are proposed and validated or refuted through experiments inaction. The rigid and detailed 'operating procedure' specification throws up problems of the veryminute kind; while its resolution leads to a reframing of the procedure and specifications. This inter-temporal change (or flexibility) of the specification (or operating procedure) is done at the lowest levelof the organization; i.e. closest to the site of action.

One implication of this arrangement is that system design can no longer be rationally optimal andstandardized across the organization. It is quite common to find different work norms in contiguousassembly lines, because each might have faced a different set of problems and devised differentcounter-measures to tackle it. Design of the coordinating process that essentially imposes thediscipline that is required in large-scale complex manufacturing systems is therefore customized tovariations in man-machine context of the site of action. It evolves through numerous points of


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negotiation throughout the organization. It implies then that the higher levels of the hierarchy do notexercise the power of the fiat in setting work rules, for such work rules are no longer a standard setacross the whole organization.

It might be interesting to go through the basic Toyota philosophy that underlines its system designingpractices. The notion of the ideal production system in Toyota embraces the following 'the ability todeliver just-in-time (or on demand) a customer order in the exact specification demanded, in a batchsize of one (and hence an infinite proliferation of variants, models and specifications), defect-free,without wastage of material, labour, energy or motion in a safe and (physically and emotionally)fulfilling production environment'. It did not embrace the concept of a standardized product that canbe cheap by giving up variations. Preserving consumption variety was seen, in fact, as one mode ofserving society. It is interesting to note that the articulation of the Toyota philosophy was madearound roughly the same time that the Fordist system was establishing itself in the US automotive

industry.

44. What can be best defended as the asset which Toyota model of production leverages to give thevast range of models in a defect-free fashion? (1 mark)

A. Large scale complex manufacturing systemsB. Intellectual capital of the company's managementC. Loans taken by the company from banks and financial institutionsD. Ability of the workers to evolve solutions to problemsE. Skill and charisma of the top leadership

45. Which of the following can be best defended as a pre-condition for the Toyota type of

production system to work? (1 mark)

A. Existence of workers' union to protect worker's rightsB. Existence of powerful management to create unique strategiesC. Cordial worker-management relations to have industrial peaceD. High management involvement towards problems identified by workersE. Management's faith in workers' abilities to solve problems in a rigorous manner

46. Based on the above passage, which of the following statements is best justified? (3 marks)

A. Workers have significant control rights over the design of work rules that allow worker skillsand ingenuity to continuously search for novel micro-solutions using information that often

sticks to the local micro-context of the work.B. Managers have significant control rights over the design of work rules that allow worker

skills and ingenuity to continuously search for novel micro-solutions around micro-information that often sticks to the local micro-context of the work.

C. Work rules enable the workers to report problems faced at the shop-floor to specialisedpersonnel who set up experiments to replicate the conditions. This allows the specialists tocome up with solutions that are rigorously tested in experimental conditions.


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D. Toyota as an organisation has extensive networks with different specialists who are subjectmatter experts in different fields. These networks allow problems to be resolved in the mostadvanced manner, enabling Toyota to beat the competition.

E. Toyota's products are extensively tested by customers in simulated conditions before theyare released to the market. This extensive testing is done by workers who double up as acommunity of scientists experimenting to develop the most advanced product.

47. What could be the best defense of the "different work norms in contiguous assembly lines"?(4 marks)

A. Without such variation allowed, rights of manager to design work-rules would have madevery little sense, making the company similar to Ford.

B. Proscribing standardised work norms would prevent Toyota from benefiting from workers'problem solving ability in resolving different kinds of problems that emerge, thus making itdifficult to attain the Toyota philosophy.

C. If similarities were imposed, rights of workers to experiment with work-rules would havemade very little sense.

D. Standardisation of work rules is only justified when the investments in plants are huge andexperimenting with the work rules would be detrimental to the efficiency of the plants.Since Toyota's plants typically involved low investment, it could tolerate non standard workrules.

E. With standardisation of processes, right of the workers in design of work-rules made sense.Since Toyota's manufacturing processes were non-standardised, the different work normsdid not make sense.

48. The author has __________ his composition to the best of his __________; yet listen to it with asympathetic ____________, O ______________ souls, and judge it.

The option that best fills the blanks in the above sentence would be: (2 marks)

A. honed, insights, mind, distinguished B. polished, intellect, mind, nobleC. polished, mind, intellect, noble D. refined, ingenuity, heart, righteousE. refined, thoughts, heart, righteous

49. There is much difficulty ___________ getting ____________ this place and it is not possible toreach ______________ without the grace of the lord.

The option that best fills the blanks in the above sentence would be: (1 mark)

A. in; to; it B. to; to; it C. to; in; itD. in; in; in E. in; to; to


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50. ___________ you have a doubt, why not go and verify? I shall be waiting in the shade______________ this banyan tree till you come back __________ me.


A. if; under; on B. as; of; for C. as; of; atD. for; under; at E. if; of; to

51. Pick the odd one out: (3 marks)

A. wisdom; folly B. friendship; enmity C. often; seldomD. loyalty; treachery E. devotion; loathing

Analyse the following passage and provide appropriate answers for the questions 52 through 55that follow.

We can answer Fermi's Paradox in two ways. Perhaps our current science over-estimates the likelihoodof extraterrestrial intelligence evolving. Or, perhaps, evolved technical intelligence has some deeptendency to be self-limiting, even self-exterminating. After Hiroshima, some suggested that any aliensbright enough to make colonizing space ships would be bright enough to make thermonuclearbombs, and would use them on each other sooner or later.

I suggest a different, even darker solution to the Paradox. Basically, I think the aliens forget to sendradio signals or colonize space because they're too busy with runaway consumerism and virtual-realitynarcissism. Once they turn inwards to chase their shiny pennies of pleasure, they lose the cosmic plot.

The fundamental problem is that an evolved mind must pay attention to indirect cues of biologicalfitness, rather than tracking fitness itself. This was a key insight of evolutionary psychology in the early1990s; although evolution favours brains that tend to maximize fitness (as measured by numbers ofgreat-grandkids), no brain has capacity enough to do so under every possible circumstance. As aresult, brains must evolve shortcuts: fitness-promoting tricks, cons, recipes and heuristics that work, onan average, under ancestrally normal conditions. Technology is fairly good at controlling externalreality to promote real biological fitness, but it's even better at delivering fake fitness subjective cuesof survival and reproduction without the real-world effects.

Fitness-faking technology tends to evolve much faster than our psychological resistance to it. With the

invention of Xbox 360, people would rather play a high-resolution virtual ape in Peter Jackson's KingKong than be a perfect-resolution real human. Teens today must find their way through a carnival ofaddictively fitness-faking entertainment products. The traditional staples of physical, mental and socialdevelopment athletics, homework, dating are neglected. The few young people with the self-control to pursue the meritocratic path often get distracted at the last minute.


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Around 1900, most inventions concerned physical reality and in 2005 focus shifted to virtualentertainment. Freud's pleasure principle triumphs over the reality principle. Today we narrow-casthuman-interest stories to each other, rather than broadcasting messages of universal peace andprogress to other star systems.

Maybe the bright aliens did the same. I suspect that a certain period of fitness-faking narcissism isinevitable after any intelligent life evolves. This is the Great Temptation for any technological species to shape their subjective reality to provide the cues of survival and reproductive success without thesubstance. Most bright alien species probably go extinct gradually, allocating more time and resourcesto their pleasures and less to their children.

Heritable variation in personality might allow some lineages to resist the Great Temptation and lastlonger. Some individuals and families may start with an "irrational" Luddite abhorrence ofentertainment technology, and they may evolve ever more self-control, conscientiousness andpragmatism by combining the family values of the religious right with the sustainability values of theGreenpeace. They wait patiently for our fitness-faking narcissism to go extinct. Those practical-mindedbreeders will inherit the Earth as like-minded aliens may have inherited a few other planets. When theyfinally achieve contacts, it will not be a meeting of novel-readers and game-players. It will be ameeting of dead-serious super-parents who congratulate each other on surviving not just the Bomb,but the Xbox.

52. Among the following options, which one represents the most important concern raised inthe passage? (1 mark)

A. Extraterrestrial life and its impact on human beings.B. Lack of interest in developing proper fitness.C. Short-term pleasure seeking behaviour.D. Technological advancement and extinction of intelligence.E. Tendency of brain to develop shortcuts.

53. Which among the following would be the best possible explanation for the lack of contactbetween human beings and aliens? (1 mark)

A. Overestimation of the technological capability of aliens.B. Genetic variation in aliens' personality is not yet achieved.C. Thermonuclear bombs might have destroyed all aliens.D. Colonisation of space is impossible to achieve.

E. Aliens have become self-centred and pleasure seeking.


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54. To which of the following statements would the author of the passage agree the most? (3marks)

A. Violent crime, including gang warfare for turf protection and expansion, co-exists in alltechnological advanced societies in spite of proliferation of fitness-faking technologies.

B. The technology to produce fitness-faking gadgets is guided by the government's desire tocontrol the minds of citizens and keep citizens away from engaging in trouble-makingactivities.

C. Countries that have the most advanced technology often are the ones that are at theforefront of colonial expansion through wars.

D. Wars and colonial conquest engaged in by the European nations after the renaissance wouldnot have occurred had fitness-faking gadgets and consumerism existed in those countriesduring those times.

E. The search for colonies is undertaken by all the countries, irrespective of their technologicalexpansion. This colonial expansion is guided more by need for adventure than for resources.

55. Which of the following statements, if true, challenges the ideas presented in the passage themost? (3 marks)

I. Violent crime, including gang warfare for turf protection and expansion, co-exists in alltechnological advanced societies in spite of proliferation of fitness-faking technologies.

II. The technology to produce fitness-faking gadgets is guided by the government's desire tocontrol the minds of citizens and keep citizens away from engaging in trouble-makingactivities.

III. Countries that have the most advanced technology often are the ones that are at theforefront of preparedness for wars.IV. The era of colonial expansion that was engaged in by the European nations after the

renaissance would have never taken place had the technology to produce fitness-fakinggadgets existed during those times.

V. Teenagers having access to technology, engage in more socializing away from parentalsupervision than those who do not have access to such technology.

A. I & III B. II & III C. III & IVD. I, II, & V E. I, III & V


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56. Nature is _____________ and unchangeable, and it is ____________ as to whether its hiddenreasons and ________________ are _____________ to man or not.


A. relentless, indifferent, actions, understandableB. persistent, heartless, actions, comprehensibleC. inexorable, apathetic, activities, explicableD. harsh, indifferent, actions, understandableE. inescapable, unconcerned, activities, intelligible

57. Impressions are direct, vivid, and forceful products of immediate experience; ideas aremerely feeble copies of these original impressions.

Assuming the above statement is true, which of the statements logically follow from it?(3 marks)

I. Every impression leads to an idea.II. Ideas must follow an antecedent impression.III. The colour of the 2011 XAT test booklet right in front of a candidate is an impression to her,

whereas the memory of the colour of her television set is an idea.IV. If one was interested in origin of the idea of the colour of a television set, then one need to

understand the impressions from which this idea was derived.

A. I & III B. II & III C. II & IVD. II, III & IV E. I, II, III & IV

58. Media are not just passive channels of information. Not only do they supply the stuff ofthought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the internet seems to be doingis chipping away our capacity for concentration.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument presented above? (1 mark)

A. Nietzsche was forced to use a typewriter when he started losing his vision. After he masteredthe machine, he could type with his eyes closed. It was later found that under the effect ofthe machine, Nietzsche's prose "changed from arguments to aphorisms, from thoughts topuns, from rhetoric to telegram style".

B. One of the effects of the timekeeping instruments has been that we have started decidingon our daily activities based on the clock and not based on our senses.

C. Studies have shown that the essay writing skills of an average 15-20 year old, who spends alot of time browsing the internet, is comparable to what it was among the average 15-20year old, throughout the 1980s and the 1990s.


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61. Perhaps this war will pass like the others which divided us,leaving us dead, killing us along with the killersbut the shame of this time puts its burning fingers to our faces.Who will erase the ruthlessness hidden in innocent blood?

Which of the following is certainly not implied in the above verse? (1 mark)

A. Killers also get killed in war.B. Humanity gets divided by war and reunites afterwards in peace.C. This war is especially ruthless.D. This war is shameful to the entire humanity.E. None can obliterate the ruthlessness of this war.

62. Travelling is my hobby. Today in the Himalayas, as I drag my feet through the ___________, Icannot but think of the same time last year when I was negotiating the thick ____________ofthe Ganges delta or for that matter the time I spent with my children _____________ about inthe waters of the Arabian Sea.

The option that best fills the blanks in the above sentence would be: (2 marks)

A. slush, sludge, sloshing B. sludge, slosh, slushing C. slush, slosh, sludgingD. slosh, sludge, slushing E. sludge, slush, sloshing

63. In spite of being perceived as _______ by all, the club members decided to _________ Arun, askinny teenage with prominent ___________, as the member of the year, so that the whole

affair would be __________ to Arun's father who was recuperating after a serious illness. The option that best fills the blanks in the above sentence would be: (3 marks)

A. felon, felicitate, freckles, febrileB. feral, facilitate, feckless, felicificC. federate, facilitate, freckles, feralD. febrile, felicitate, feckless, feralE. feckless, felicitate, freckles, felicific


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64. Few sentences are given below continuously. Identify the best sequence of punctuations amongthe given options. (The rule of capitalization at the beginning of sentences has been ignored inthe passage given below).Note: the arrows in the options indicate text that would be within the punctuations

a persons frames of perception and action are narrow in early stages of development focused onsocial membership and technical competence the early life of the organizations often is focusedon survival and efficiency only later and rarely emphasizing process of learning anddevelopment however in later stages both individual and organization become more concernedwith the learning process itself the way the perceptions and practices are articulated and revisedin interactions and how more people can be engaged in mutual learning and inquiry (3 marks)

A. . . . . B. . , . , , . C. . , . , . D. , . , . . , . E. , . , . : .

65. Choose the odd one: (3 marks)

A. Water : : Dirty : : Clean B. Battery : : Dead : : MusicC. Wood : : Burn : : Food D. Juice : : Ferment : : WineE. Rain : : Thunder : : Hail

66. Choose the odd one: (3 marks)

A. The balloon goes up : Spot fixing scandalB. In the altogether : Bath tubC. The halcyon days : ChildhoodD. The real McCoy : Darjeeling TeaE. Throw down the gauntlet : UN peace keeping force

67. Read the following sentences and choose the option that best arranges them in a logicalorder. (2 marks)

1. In law a fiduciary individual is someone who is entrusted with the power to act on behalf ofand for the benefit of another.

2. Following the weight of corporate law and legal precedent, the director primacy modelpositions directors as autonomous fiduciaries, not agents.

3. The term fiduciary derives from the Latin fiducia, or trust, and the fiduciary is expected to actin good faith and honesty for the beneficiary's interests.

4. A person who accepts the role of fiduciary in law must single-mindedly pursue the interests

of his or her beneficiary, in this case the corporation, even when the latter cannot monitor orcontrol the fiduciary's behaviour.

A. 3, 1, 4, 2 B. 3, 4, 1, 2 C. 2, 1, 3, 4 D. 4, 2, 3, 1 E. 2, 1, 4, 3


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68. Read the sentences and choose the option that best arranges them in a logical order. (2 marks)

a. Generally, it is unusual for a new problem in international relations to be considered withoutat the same time some international organization being developed to deal with it.

b. International society has, in spite of the diversity of culture and political systems, beenprogressively drawn closer together and become more unified.

c. Despite the fears and concerns of some governments that international organizations areincreasing too fast and that they are a burden on their exchequers, they are still proliferatingat a considerable rate.

d. People and their governments now look far beyond national frontiers and feel a commonresponsibility for the major problems of the world and for lesser problems that may subsistwithin smaller groups of states.

e. More recently in the 1990s the problems of international trade, which was growing

increasingly complex, led to the development of the WTO.f. For instance, concern with the instability of commodities markets led to the establishment inthe 1980s of the Common Fund for Commodities and the competition for the newlydiscovered wealth of the international seabed area resulted in the creation of the ISA underthe Law of the Sea Convention of 1982, based on the concept of the 'the common heritageof mankind'.

A. a, b, c, d, f, e B. b, e, d, c, f, a C. c, a, f, e, d, bD. c, a, f, e, b, d E. d, c, a, b, f, e

69. As the information on air warfare tasks and stressors was being gathered and scenarios werebeing developed, a parallel effort ensued to identify a test bed simulation for air warfare teams. To maintain experimental control, it was determined by the designers that choosing a low

physical fidelity simulation was acceptable as long as cognitive fidelity in a team simulation wasmaintained through subjecting soldiers to pressure situations in a simulated combat setting andattempting to ensure that naturalistic decision making of soldiers would not be compromised.

Which of the following statements, if true, weakens the logic of the above passage? (2 marks)

i. A number of studies have shown that high levels of physical stress lead to a weakening ofthe decision-making capabilities of human beings.

ii. It has been convincingly demonstrated by various studies that human beings by natureare not designed to adapt to high levels of mental stress.

iii. Numerous studies have shown that simulated environments can be designed to be goodsubstitutes for real-life combat situations.

iv. Studies have shown that simulated exercises for armed forces personnel have tended toinduce a systematic type of "correct" and common behaviour among the trainees.

v. Officers, when short-listing soldiers for critical operations, pick up battle-hardened soldiersrather than those who have been trained through simulations.

A. i and ii B. ii and iii C. i and ivD. i, ii, iv, and v E. ii, iii, iv, and v


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Answer questions 70 and 71 on the basis of the paragraph below.

We are not only afraid of being in the dark; we are also suspicious of being kept in the dark. We oftenfeel that the universe has a hidden order that we cannot quite comprehend. In ancient times, thisorder was attributed to the gods - omnipotent beings who controlled humans' fates. Greek myths inparticular portrayed humans as pawns in the great games played by the gods. More recently, there aresuspicions of global conspiracies. These conspiracies are cited for events that are too important to berandom. We no longer describe them as "Acts of God," so they must be the work of other people -people who are hiding their influence over us, covering up their involvement. They are keeping therest of us in the dark. Among the events attributed to these people are political assassinations andUFO sightings. Examining these events in minute detail results in a long list of "coincidences" which, inthe minds of the conspiracy buffs, are too numerous to be truly random. There must be a centralplanner who is at the hub of a sinister form of order. No one admits to the conspiracy, so there must bea cover-up. Better to think that we are all being kept in the dark by sinister forces than to admit thatthere is no order.

70. Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the underlying logic of the abovepassage? (2 marks)

i. The human need for order is a highly exaggerated notion. It more often than notleads to creation of theories about the universe. The more sensational the theory, the moreprevalent it becomes.

ii. The universe is less guided by pure randomness than by well-defined naturalprocesses which are subjected to randomness at varying intervals of time and space.

iii. To strengthen their case for a variety of conspiracies the conspiracy buffs areextrapolating from a very small set of observed "coincidences".iv. The persons propounding the different conspiracy theories are usually novelists who use

these theories as a backdrop during the construction of the plots of the novels.v. The human fear of being kept in the dark is much stronger than the fear of lack of order in

the working of the universe.

A. i, ii, and iii B. i, ii and iv C. i, iii and ivD. i, iv and v E. ii, iv and v

71. Which of the following statements would, if true, strengthen the case for belief in sinister forces

and conspiracies being at work in the above paragraph? (3 marks)

i. Though science has progressed a lot in the last two centuries or so, it is still unable toexplain/account for more than 80% of the phenomena in the universe.

ii. There is now the existence of photographic evidence of presence of UFOs and a growingnumber of parallel studies showing that the human mind can easily be manipulated to dosomeone else's will through various events that manipulate the 'perceived reality'.


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iii. The fear of our actions and thoughts being controlled by someone else has intensified withthe widespread popularity of the depiction of its gory outcomes by different novelists andmovie makers.

iv. There is a strong movement to reintroduce the teachings of the biblical evolutionary processand the presence of God in schools around the world.

v. The Darwinian study of evolution of species, the cornerstone of beliefs in fathomablerandomness of the workings of the universe has come under a scathing attack for itsinaccurate depiction of the causes and process of evolution.

A. i and iv B. i and v C. ii, iii and vD. i, ii and v E. ii, iii, and iv

72. The motivation of human beings towards their work is a subject matter that is at once a simpleas well as an extremely complicated matter. For a long time, economists, sociologists, as well aspsychologists believed that a carrot and stick approach, with monetary incentives playing therole of the carrot, would be sufficient to goad employees towards achieving higher levels ofperformance. However, a number of recent studies and observations, especially dealing with theopen source revolution are placing on the table strong evidence suggesting that monetaryincentives are only one part of the entire story of motivation through incentives. In a studyconducted by a group of researchers at MIT, it was found that monetary incentives work wellonly in respect of tasks requiring mechanical skills i.e. those tasks not requiring much use ofhigher level cognitive abilities (such as memorizing or problem solving). In fact their studyshowed that setting high monetary incentives for tasks requiring cognitive abilities were morelikely than not to produce adverse outcomes. Since this result flew straight in the face of the

widely accepted body of knowledge on employee motivation, they conducted multipleexperiments in different settings and countries to ensure that it was not a one-off result. Thefindings were the same in all repetitions of the experiment. These studies appear to suggest thatmonetary incentives need to be provided only to such an extent as to take the minds ofemployees off the issue of money and focus on other issues that are necessary to get the jobdone right. For instance, some experiments have shown that greater autonomy to employeesand lowered interference from management (and bosses) is successful in driving theperformance of employees working in cognitive skill intensive jobs.

Identify the statement(s) that is (are) logically consistent with the content of the paragraph.(2 marks)

i. The carrot-stick approach essentially requires the use of rewards to get more of a desiredbehaviour whereas penalties lead to increased undesirable behaviour.ii. Expending time and effort on the design of monetary incentives is a wasteful exercise.iii. The study by the group of MIT researchers was a flawed exercise from the start.iv. There appears to be a need to reorient the existing paradigm prevalent in incentive

design.


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v. During the process of designing incentives, one should clearly delineate activities into thoserequiring mechanical skills and those requiring higher-level cognitive skills and design withseparate sets of incentives and penalties for each.

A. i and iv B. i and v C. ii and iiiD. ii and iv E. iv and v

Answer questions 73 and 74 on the basis of the following conversation between two friends,Paradox (P) and Herodox (H)

P: The human body is but the tomb of the soul and the visible world of matter is appearance that mustbe overcome if we are to know reality. The former is an integral part of "being", that which can neithercome into existence nor cease to exist for it always is. Being is unmoved and undistributed. Motionand disturbance belong to the realm of "becoming", the changing world of unreality rather than of"being" in which true reality resides. Further, motion & change by belonging to the realm of"becoming" by having no separate existence of their own are logically inconsistent with reality andhence, unworthy of serious study.H: All things are in a state of perpetual flux. Permanence, and by extension, the concept of "being" isonly an illusion. This change and continual transformation, through an often disorderly process ofconflict and survival of the fittest, is the underlying principle at work in the universe. It is from thisprinciple that all things come into existence, and forms the basis for the morals and governancepatterns that attempt to preserve the social thread of societies. By extension, the study of humanactivity through the lens of an idealized state of "being" and as a basis for formulating moral codes ofconduct is inappropriate at best.

73. Which of the following statements could be considered as logically consistent with the viewsof paradox in the above paragraphs? (3 marks)

i. A fly travelling on a flying arrow perceives it to be at rest. Therefore the flying arrow belongsto the realm of being.

ii. The activities of the day to day life are concerned with the unreal part of humanexistence and hence, should not be subject to moral standards.

iii. Maintaining a balance among the various constituents of society is essential to the well-being and the continuing existence of the soul.

iv. Conflicts and the coming of spontaneous order do not have any underlying causes that arerelevant for study as the notion of perpetual flux itself is erroneous.

v. The real is and cannot be non-existent. Further, reality is one and unique.

A. i only B. ii and iv C. iv and vD. i, ii, and iii E. i, iv, and v


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74. Which of the following statements best represents an implication of Herodox's ideas? (2 marks)

A. Religion and other approaches that stress on maintaining and developing the purity of thehuman soul are subjects that do not merit serious attention.

B. The setting of moral standards and codes of governance have to be more procedure-oriented with a focus on the way humans conduct themselves in their interactions with eachother.

C. Maintaining a balance between various constituents of the society and conflict prevention isessential to the maintenance of social order and a pre-requisite for governance.

D. As the real world relevant to the existence of human beings is in a state of perpetual flux,attempting to study the same in a systematic manner would be meaningful despite realityitself having changed by then.

E. There is no notion of time-space-invariant reality. There can be numerous realities bothacross times and across human cultures and civilizations.

Answer questions 75 to 77 on the basis of the information below.

Five reviews of the recently published novel, Caught in a Blizzard , are reproduced below. The reviewsand the reviewers are identified as indicated by the numbers.

A. This novel can change your life for the good, as it has changed mine. It has made me reflectcritically about my life.

B. The novel has become a popular piece of literature, more among the youth than among theolder population.

C. The author uses the plot in her novel to present her philosophy about life in a positive light,rather than relying on the merits of the philosophy per se.

D. The author is known to be a writer of great power. The intricate and captivating plots in hernovels shows that she has a subtle and ingenious mind.

E. People have been jolted out of their beliefs about love and other different aspects of lifeafter reading this novel.

The options to the questions 75-77 are same as the reviews/reviewers indicated above.

75. There has been criticism about reviewers that they write reviews after having a cursory readingof the book in question. Based on the analysis of the different reviews, which reviewer is mostlikely to have read the book in greater detail as compared to the other reviewers? (1 mark)

76. Out the five reviews given, which one can be most objectively validated? (1 mark)

77. Which reviewer eulogises the author rather than critically reviews the novels? (1 mark)


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Section CAnalytical Reasoning and Decision Making

78. Indian government may hold top executives responsible if state-run power companies fail tomeet performance targets and punish them with fines and transfers. The strict performanceparameters are aimed at ensuring that at least the reduced target for 62,000 MW of generationcapacity addition is achieved before the end of the 11th Plan, said a power ministry official.Performance of chairman and managing directors of the power Public Sector Units (PSUs) inproject implementation will be assessed as per the terms and conditions stipulated in thecompany's memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the power ministry, he said, requestinganonymity. Performance parameters of executives had came under strict scrutiny due to a lackof progress in capacity addition program. While the target for the 11th five year plan has already

been scaled down by the government from 78,500 MW, in the first three years of the planyielded only 22,302 MW of fresh capacity.

If you were the chairman of one of these power PSU's, which of the following statements (all ofwhich are assumed to be true) could best be used in order to strengthen your case against thegovernment holding top executives responsible? (3 marks)

i. The labour unions, owing allegiance to ruling party at the Center, are not allowing work toprogress with their demands for wage hikes that are untenable.

ii. The actions of the mid-level management are not in line with the objectives laid down bythe top management.

iii. The delays have been due to difficulties in obtaining funds at reasonable interest rates onaccount of the recessionary conditions.

iv. We are not to blame. The government is not doing enough to ensure availability of sufficientfuel to power the existing plants, let alone the new plants.

v. The government had ignored the infrastructure availability like roads etc., andenvironmental clearances required for such projects and therefore set an unrealistic targetto begin with, and the revised target is also unrealistic as well.

A. i and ii B. i and iii C. i, iii and ivD. ii, iv and v E. i, ii, iii, iv and v

Answer Questions 79 and 80 on the basis of the paragraph below.

The CEO of ABC Telecom Ltd. (ABC) is in a quandary since he received the telephone call in the

morning from his counterpart at LMN Telecom Ltd. (LMN). Both companies were engaged in a bitterexperience a couple of years ago when they had attempted to merge with the intention of creating abehemoth telecom company, possibly the largest in the world. The merger had fallen through due toopportunistic behavior on the part of Mr. Das, then CEO of LMN. During the time the merger talks weretaking place, Mr. Das had also approached a few other suitors for LMN in an attempt to force ABC topay a higher price. Further, there were reports of attempts by management of LMN to scuttle the deal.Back then, ABC had also faced stiff opposition to the deal from one of its large shareholders.


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Since then, a lot has changed for both companies. The bleak economic conditions due to recessionhad led to a drastic fall in the market value of both companies, with ABC comparatively losing muchmore in terms of market value. Raising money has become more difficult for both companies,especially for LMN. On the brighter side for ABC, the opposing shareholder had recently sold off hisstake to another investor who earlier had supported the original merger deal with LMN a couple ofyears ago.

79. Which of the following would be the most appropriate line(s) of thought for the CEO of ABC toadopt in response to the offer by LMN? (3 marks)

i. Once bitten twice shy. There is simply no way I can think of resuming talks with LMN aftertheir unethical behaviour the previous time around. I would rather spend my time on mergerdiscussions with other companies.

ii. The deal may make less business sense this time around. However, if it goes through, I willbecome the CEO of the world's largest telecom company. So let us try our luck once more.

iii. I will resume talks only if they provide guarantees as to the reimbursement of ourexpenses incurred, in the event of the deal not materializing.

iv. Let me not be biased against dealing with LMN, if we can secure the deal at a reasonably lowprice, benefiting our shareholders, let us go ahead with it.

v. I am not sure if we can raise the money now. In any event, they are the ones facing greaterfinancial problems. So let's not hurry now. We might have an opportunity to buy them out ata cheaper price later.

A. i and iii B. ii and iv C. ii and iii

D. i and iv E. iv and v80. The merger of ABC and LMN has been confirmed after detailed negotiation with LMN holding

the majority share of the resultant entity. LMN has financed the merger by taking debt at higher-than-market interest rates from its bankers, in the hope that it would be able to streamlineoperations and reduce costs in the resultant entity which will allow it to repay the loan. If youwere an investor looking to invest in telecom companies, which of the following could be thestrongest reasons for staying away from investing in resultant entity? (3 marks)

A. The new entrants in the telecom market were coming with better offers for the customers.B. The market would be as competitive as ever for the resultant entity, thus providing no

guarantee for success.

C. The combined management did present have any grand strategies to the investors.D. ABC's management was giving in to Mr. Das who was a known opportunist.E. LMN was using high cost debt to purchase another company in the same industry facing

similar problems with no visible advantage for the combined entity over competitors.


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81. Wind turbine maker Leone Energy posted a net loss of Rs. 250 crore for the fourth quarter endedMarch 31, 2010 as against a net profit of Rs. 350 crore in the same quarter a year-ago. In thefinancial year 2009-10, the company clocked a gross income of Rs. 6,517 crore, as against Rs.9,778 crore in the previous year. Leone Energy clocked a loss of Rs. 1,100 crore in 2009-10, asagainst a net profit of Rs.320 crore in 2008-09. The sales revenues stood at Rs. 22,400 crore forthe year, approximately 21 per cent less against Rs. 28,350 crore last year. For the financial yearending March 31, 2010, Leone Energy's sales volume (in terms of capacity of projects executed)was 4,560 MW from 2,935 MW a year ago. The CEO of Leone Energy in his message toshareholders suggested that the poor performance of the company was the result of adverseeconomic conditions during the year ended March 31, 2010.

You are a shareholder owning 5% of the shares of Leone Energy, have seen the stock pricedecline by more than 50% during the year 2009-10, and are quite upset with the way the

management has been handling the business. You have decided to confront the managementat the next shareholders' meeting and have chosen the following 5 point to argue against theCEO's version of the story. In light of the above paragraph, select the most appropriate order ofthese 5 statements that you, as a disappointed shareholder, should adopt as a stringing androbust preface in your case against the management in front of the management and othershareholders. (3 marks)

a. The management is not doing its best to maintain the profitability of the company.b. The company has actually increased its sales volume during the year under consideration.c. The adverse economic conditions have led to a worldwide increase in the adoption of

alternative energy sources, reflecting in all- time highest profits for wind turbine makersin both developed and developing countries.

d. The management has been lax with its employees as the management enjoys a largeset of benefits from the company that they would have to forgo if they became strict withemployees.

e. The company is trying to increase sales by charging lower, unprofitable prices.

A. b, c, a B. a, c, b C. b, e, cD. c, b, e E. e, b, c

82. On 1st March, Timon arrived in a new city and was looking for a place to stay. He met a landladywho offered to rent her apartment at a reasonable price but wanted him to pay the rent on adaily basis. Timon had a silver bar of 31 inches, and an inch of the silver bar was exactly equal toa day's rent. He agreed to pay an inch of the silver bar towards the daily rent. Timon wanted tomake minimum number of pieces of the silver bar but did not want to pay any advance rent.How many pieces did he make? (3 marks)

A. 5 B. 8 C. 16 D. 20 E. 31


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Read the following case and choose the best alternative (Questions 83 to 86):

Chetan Textile Mills (CTM) has initiated various employee welfare schemes for its employees since theday the mill began its operations. Due to its various welfare initiatives and socially responsible businesspractices, the organisation has developed an impeccable reputation. Majority of the regular workers inChetan Mills had membership of Chetan Mills Mazdoor Sangh (CMMS), a non political trade union.CMMS had the welfare of its member as its guiding principle. Both CTM and CMMS addressed variousworker related issues on a proactive basis. As a result no industrial dispute had been reported from theorganization in the recent past.

These days majority of the employers deploy large number of contract labourers in their productionprocesses. In an open economy survival of an organization depends on its competitiveness. In order tobecome competitive, an organization must be able to reduce cost and have flexibility in employment

of resources. Engaging workers through contractors (contract labourer) reduces the overall labour costby almost 50%. Indian labour legislations make reduction of regular workers almost impossible, butorganisations can overcome this limitation by employing contract labourers. Contract labourersneither get the same benefit as regular employees nor do they have any job security. According tovarious recent surveys, government owned public sector units and other departments are the biggestemployers of contract labourers in the country. Contractors, as middle-men, often exploit the contractlabourers, and these government organizations have failed to stop the exploitation.

Over time CTM started engaging a large number of contract labourers. At present, more than 35% ofCM's workers (total 5,000 in number) are contract labourers. CMMS leadership was wary about the slowerosion of its support base as regular workers slowly got replaced by contract workers and feared theday when regular workers would become a minority in the mill. So far, CMMS has refused to take

contract labourers as members.Recently, based on rumours, CTM management started to investigate the alleged exploitation ofcontract labourers by certain contractors. Some contractors felt that such investigations may exposethem and reduce their profit margin. They instigated contract labourers to demand for better wages.Some of the contract labourers engaged in material handling and cleaning work started provokingCTM management by adopting violent tactics.

Today's news-paper reports that police and CTM security guards fired two or three rounds in air toquell the mob. The trouble started while a security guard allegedly slapped one of the contractlabourers following a heated argument. Angry labourers set fire to several vehicles parked inside thepremises, and to the police jeeps.

83. In the wake of recent happenings, what decision is expected from CTM management? From thecombinations given below, choose the best sequence of action. (4 marks)

I. Stop the current investigation against the contractors to ensure industrial peace; after allallegations were based on rumours.


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II. Continue investigation to expose exploitation and take strong actions against troublemakers.

III. Get in direct touch with all contract labourers through all possible means, communicate theneed for current investigation to stop their exploitation, and convince them regarding CTM'ssituation due to competition. Also expose those contractors who are creating problems.

IV. Promise strong action against the security guards who are guilty.V. Increase the wages of contract labourers.

A. I, V B. I, II C. II, V D. III, IV E. III, V

84. In the current context, which among the following represent the most suitable reactionfrom CMMS leadership? (5 marks)

A. Distance CMMS from the episode and explain that CMMS is not involved in the fiascothrough a press conference.

B. Offer membership to contract labourers, which would put the contract worker at par withthe regular workers in CMMS.

C. Do not offer membership to contract labourers, but represent their interests duringnegotiation in order to prevent the formation of another union in CTM.

D. Start another union exclusively for contract labourers of CTM.E. Adopt a neutral stand in public, and pass on information related to problem creators to the

CTM management.

85. Out of the options given below, which one would be the best policy decision by government atthe national level? (2 marks)

A. Asking CM management to pay same wages to both regular and contract workers.B. Income tax raids in offices of contractors under investigation.C. Setting up a new labour welfare office within CM premises.D. Setting up a new committee to make recommendations for changes in labour legislations

with an objective to reduce exploitation of contract labourers.E. Use entire government machinery to support CTM, which has an impeccable track record.

86. The criminals in the surrounding area often took their cue from the situation in the mill, creatinglaw and order problems outside the mill which would later make it difficult for workers to cometo mill safely. Given the circumstances, identify the stakeholder that should be the immediate

priority of CTM management. (1 mark)

A. Contract labourers who were allegedly beaten by the security guard of the company.B. District administration that is concerned about the spread of violence.C. CMMS that prefers an immediate settlement of the issue.D. Customers who are concerned about prices and regular supplies.E. Contract labourers who are demanding job security and same wages as regular employees.


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Alex Company has its office at the third floor of a multi-storied building in Mumbai. There are 5 roomsto be allotted to 5 managers (designated M1 to M5), each of whom will occupy one room. Each roomhas its own advantages and disadvantages. Some have the sea view, while others are closer to eitherthe life or the dining room, while some are more spacious. Each of the five managers was asked to rankthe room preferences amongst the rooms 301, 302, 303, 304 and 305. Their preferences were recordedas follows:

Preference M1 M2 M3 M4 M5

1st 302 302 303 302 301

2nd 303 304 301 305 3023rd 304 305 304 304 3054th 301 305 3035th 302

Some managers did not indicate any preference for some rooms, as they did want to be there underany condition. The company decided to allot rooms to managers in such a way that the managers getrooms as per their best preference or close to that.

87. How many managers would get their rooms as per their best preference? (2 marks)

A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 E. 5

88. If manager X gets his/her 1st choice, then his/her preference ranking is 1 and so on.Management decided to allot rooms so that the sum of the preference ranking of all themanagers is minimized. What is the total preference ranking for the rooms allotted to all themanagers? (3 marks)

A. 5 B. 6 C. 7 D. 8 E. 9

89. Suppose that Manager M2 decides not to join the new zonal office and Manager M6 takes hisplace. Manager M6 has the following preference ranking in decreasing order: 301, 302, 303, 304 -in this case what would be the sum of the preference ranking allotted to all five managers?(2 marks)

A. 5 B. 6 C. 7 D. 8 E. 9


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Every Saturday, the members of Raja Harish Chandra Club meet in the evening. All the member of theclub are honest and never lie. Last Saturday, the following conversation was heard at one of the tablewith five members sitting around it.

Satya Sadhan: In this club not all members are friends with each other.

Satyabrata: None of the pair of friends in this club has any common friend.

Satyajit: Every pair of member who are not friends has exactly two common friends in this club. SatyaPramod: There are fewer than 22 people in this club.

90. How many members are there in the club? (5 marks)

A. 5 B. 7 C. 15 D. 16 E. 20

91. How many friends does Satya Sadhan have in the club? (3 marks)

A. 2 B. 3 C. 5 D. 7 E. 8


In the country of Gagan, air travellers can buy their tickets either directly from the airlines or from threewebsites that are licensed to offer ticketing services online. In Gagan most of the commercialtransactions are done electronically, and all citizens have an account with its national bank CeeCee. As

a result the three websites have become popular and each transaction through these websites carries asurcharge of Gs. 250 (Gs. refers to Guppes, currency of Gagan). Given below are four post new-year(January 2, 2011 to February 28, 2011) offers from three competing websites:

Cozy_travel Offer: Make a confirmed booking for any service (fight ticket, hotel or rail tickets) throughCozy_travel.com from December 5, 2010 to February 8, 2011 and become eligible for two free airtickets (offer is limited to the base fare). Free tickets have to be booked through online request fromJanuary 1, 2011 to February 28, 2011. The request for free tickets should be submitted at least twenty-one days in advance. Free tickets are non - amendable (expect the passenger name) and cannot becancelled. Free ticket cannot be exchanged for cash or kind with anybody. Cozy_travel will try its bestto secure the free ticket as per the request. However, ticket confirmation is subject to airline scheduleand set availability in airlines selected and finalized by Cozy_travel from specific available airlines.

Cool_yatra Offer: Book any air ticket of any airline on Cool_yatra.com on or after December 21, 2010and get your next ticket free. Under this offer, only the base fare of free ticket will be refunded byCool_Yatra.com. Customer will have to bear rest of the charges (other fees and surcharges). The valueof base fare will be refunded to passenger on/after March 1 or fifteen days after completion of travel onfree ticket (whichever is later). The free ticket can be booked only on GagaAir flights. The free ticketmust be booked within fifteen days of booking the original ticket and the travel date of free ticket must


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be fifteen days after the booking date of free ticket. There must be a seven day gap between the traveldate of main/original ticket and the free ticket. The travel date of free ticket should be on or beforeFebruary 28, 2011. The free ticket cannot be transferred. On cancellation of the original ticket(s), you nolonger remain eligible for the free ticket(s).

Easy_travel Cash Back Offer: Easy travel offers 25% cash back on all air ticket bookings betweenDecember 5, 2010 and February 28, 2011 using CeeCee net banking service or its debit/credit card. Thecash back amount will be credited back to customers account within twenty-one days from making thetransaction. Maximum cash back during the period is Gs. 400 per person per ticket and total amountthat can be claimed by the customer is Gs. 2,400.

Ek Ke Sath Ek Offer from Easy_travel: Book an AirSpice ticket with Easy_travel using any credit/debitcard, and get another ticket absolutely free. The free tickets will be issued on AirSpice on its entire

network. The offer is valid for sale from January 11, 2011 to January 31, 2011. The free ticket must bebooked at least fifteen days prior to the date of travel and need to be completed within the offerperiod. The promotion code for the free ticket will get activated only seven days after booking themain ticket. Easy_travel will charge a handling fee of Gs. 1000/-per person for any amendments madeon main ticket. Cancellations of tickets purchased under this offer are not permitted. The free ticketobtained under this offer cannot be exchanged for cash and cannot be rerouted.

92. Which offer has got the maximum chance for becoming the most popular among the airtravellers of Gagan during post new-year period? Among the following options, choose the bestoffer-explanation combination. (3 marks)

A. Cozy_travel, because the customers will get twice the number of flights and offer isapplicable for all services provided by Cozy_travel.

B. Cozy_travel, because it allows any customer to transfer the free ticket to any one if they arenot interested in using it.

C. Ek ke sath ek offer from Easy_travel, because it offers absolutely free tickets to all customers.D. Cash Back offer from Easy_travel, because all other offers are restricted either in terms of

airlines to choose or the period of offer.E. Cozy_travel, because it allows customers to use free tickets even after post new-year period.

93. Suppose the offer from Cool_yatra became the most popular, and the other two agencies havesought help from business consultants to make their offers more attractive. Identify the bestrecommendation among the following. (3 marks)

A. Recommendation for the Ek Ke Sath Ek Offer of Easy_travel: Negotiate with GagaAir to comeup with an offer that provides one free ticket for every main ticket booked in AirSpice.

B. Recommendation for the Cash Back Offer of Easy_travel: Ensure that cash back amount willbe credited back to the customer's account within fifteen days.


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C. Recommendation for the offer from Cozy_travel: Reduce the number of free tickets to oneand applicable only for air ticket booking (not for other service), but allow customers to booktheir free ticket from Cozy_travel.com in GagaAir or comparable airlines without any daterestrictions.

D. Recommendation for the Ek Ke Sath Ek Offer of Easy_travel: Negotiate with GagaAir to comeup with an offer that provides one free ticket for every main ticket booked in GagaAir andrun both offers simultaneously.

E. Recommendation for the offer from Cozy_travel: Do not allow customers to transfer ticketsto others, but disclose that Cozy_travel will consider both GagaAir and AirSpice flights thatconnect all cities in Gagan for issuing free tickets.

94. Jagan is appearing for MAAT exam on January 2, 2011, in a city which is not his home town andhe is yet to book the air ticket to reach his hometown from MAAT center. Based on his MAATperformance, he is confident about getting an interview call from the institute of his choicelocated in Akashpur. All institutes associated with MAAT will contact the short-listed candidateswithin next two weeks with venue details and date of interview. Interviews will be scheduledwithin fifteen days from the date of announcement of shortlist, and will be held at the respectiveinstitutes. Jagan's hometown, MAAT centre, and Akashpur are connected by all airlines and thebase fares start at Gs. 1,000. While visting Akashpur for the interview, Jagan will

Documents

XAT-2011 Question Paper